Control noise at home and reduce decibels

Find out a wide range of actions to reduce acoustic polution where you live or work.

1. Introduction: The need of sound versus the annoyance of noise

"Soundproofing" is linked to "silence" but to hear is essential. At Feliu we write for hearing and non-listening people. For this reason, we link to the "National Institute on Deafness or Other Communication Disorders". 

Accessing articles about "noise" is simple. On the contrary, it is very rare to read about "sound".

Why is there such a difference? Because any noise represents at least a loss of well-being that often leads to a conflict when that happens we want answers. On the other hand, not every sound represents a problem, besides, "sound" is a scientific concept. 

2. What is the sound measurement scale like? What do its different levels equal? 

Sound is measured with a logarithmic scale. The unit which calibrates sound intensity is known as decibel. Below are four key levels of sound:

35 db. Legal limit in a house (at 11pm it should go down to 30 db.) Harmless level

65 db. Sound limit according to the World Health Organization. Harmless level

140 db. Pain limit. Harmful level  

200 db. Atomic explosion. Causes death

3. Is it worth soundproofing? 

Yes it is. Effective soundproofing is the way towards better coexistance in an owners' community and increases individual comfort. There are two further reasons for this:

3.1. Exposure to high sound levels is harmful because it causes very quicly: 

Difficulty in oral communication and reduced hearing ability.

Disturbance of sleep and rest. This leads to increased stress and decreased concentration.

Buzzing and tinnitus -continuous or intermittent.

3.2. Soundproofing mitigates these harmful effects. 

4. What does it mean to insulate a space? How do we proceed with the correct acoustic insulation of our home?

In order to insulate, an obstacle must be placed between the noise source and us. This "barrier" can be created by: a material attached to the adjacent wall, objects of greater mass or materials that absorb noise in the air chamber between walls. 

Before entering into the ways to achieve greater comfort, a consideration must be done: sometimes the noise that bothers us is born from an action of others that can be avoided. We advise you to be calm because you can agree on a few fixed hours in which the activity that causes noise can be done. To achieve anyagreement to listen, to understand the others' reasons and be flexible is the best bet.  A good way to avoid disputes is that nobody makes noise in an excessive manner, continuous or in untimely hours

We list thirteen ways to achieve the highest acoustic comfort and enjoy the rest:

1. Be scrupolous: put blocks on chairs (and always try to lift them) and protect the furniture on the floor. In addition, plaster, polyurethane, felt, wood or fabrics can also play their part when it comes to dampening noise from the wall. 

2. Be distinguished: use the carpet to prevent footfall noise from reaching the other neighbors. Although, also as pointed out by Arrevol, it would be necessary to: "chop and remove the mortar layer that is underneath due to the unevenness and irregularities of the same. To place the future floor will require a screed usually between 4 and 8 cm".

3. Opt for a false ceiling or be more sophisticated with suspended ceilings: although carpeting is the most obvious solution, the false ceiling reduces impact noise better (dragging of bulky objects, footsteps or DIY). To tell the truth, there is an option, more expensive and avant-garde than the false ceiling to opt for the suspended one. This second type of ceiling has a series of anchors that absorb vibrations.

4. Create an air chamber between partitions: next to an existing partition, put a new one between them to create an air chamber that will house the insulating material. Which are the most effective? Rock wool, fiberglass or acoustic foams. The material chosen must be suitable for the intensity of the noise you want to protect (low, medium and high). To achieve this, the "plasterboard lining" is the method par excellence. How to do it? Raise a galvanized steel structure in front of the wall and screw one or more plasterboard plates.

5. Deal with street noises: it is impossible to reduce them by more than 20%, but you are able to act.  "The exterior noise passes mainly through the holes, so the insulation of a building depends primarily on the surface of its holes," says Sandra Barañano, Technical director of Cuida tu Casa. To do this, you must locate where the holes are and, yes, you can isolate them. 

6. Isolate the shutter boxes and "inject the air chamber of the facade with insulating products to reduce the entry of outside noise" according to Antonio Guardia of Aislaconfort.

7. Pay special attention to the thickness of the glass in the windows: 

"The monolithic increases the sound insulation due to its greater thickness.
The double glazing with glass of different thicknesses on both sides of the chamber and the greater the thickness of these
Laminated glass behaves better than monolithic glass of the same thickness
Acoustic laminated glass behaves better than laminates of the same composition".

8. Focus your efforts on windows: install the folding carpentry and use double glazing.  Adhere cork and rubber to wooden windows to plug the space between the window and the frame.

9. Do you have a rehearsal room in the basement? we talked about how to play the piano without disturbing. Today we speak about how to absorb and distribute the musical sound in different directions. It's interesting to emphasize where and how to capture very high and low sounds and elements such as pyramidal foam. Finally it is said that you should not let long parallel  "naked" walls because this causes a tunnel effect that we want to avoid.   

10. Opt for solid doors: not always when we isolate ourselves we do it from the house to the outside. Use solid doors that have greater density than the hollow ones.

11. For perfectionists: isolating the downspouts in the bathroom is effective and cheap.

12. Think big: do you have a huge amount of money? Perform works on the entire house to increase the mass of: concrete, cement or brick to measure at least one centimeter. Can I do anything to reduce the noise of the work? Yes, in case you have to use drills you can lower their revolutions to the minimum necessary and in case you have to cut granite you can also reduce the noise with a silenced diamond disk.

13. Learn to rest without noise or radiation: others' noise is not the only enemy of rest. Radiation and high-intensity mobile lights could as well affect your nervous system and brain. During the night disconnect your cell phones, Wi-Fi, TV and tablets to protect your REM sleep. In this sleep step the body "recharges batteries" and "consolidates" memories and learning. 

To finish the article we give you the link towards Barcelona Townhall Noise Control Service.

This text was better thank to: Decoesfera, Aislaconfort, Houzz, Cuida tu casa, Arrevol arquitectes, Housell, Thomann.de, ambientecálido.es and Cutsdiamant.

Do you think like us that is possible to fight against acoustic stress? Share this text and you will inspire everyone.